Details of Malcolm Turnbull's million dollar investments in Cayman's
Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull did not shy away from the accusations levelled against him by Labor about his Cayman's investments, saying that he has paid his taxes duly.
Turnbull responded to recent revelations that he has AU$200 million investments in two offshore managed funds in the Cayman’s island by pointing out that several superannuation funds in Australia also invest in Cayman’s funds, including Australian Super, where Opposition Leader Bill Shorten had once been the board member.
"This is a very common practice globally, legal, and actually maximises the taxes collected by Australia. Australia has a tax information sharing agreement with the Cayman Islands and this ensures that our tax authorities can collect all taxes due," the Sydney Morning Heraldquoted PwC tax partner Peter Collins as saying.
Although Labor had admitted that Turnbull's arrangements are legal, it still questioned the prime minister’s veracity as to whether he would shy away from making the richest pay more taxes.
When the Australian Financial Review asked about his investment strategies in February, Turnbull termed it as "boring and passive." But as it emerges, it can be seen that virtually most of his investments are in the Cayman’s.
According to reports by the Sydney Morning Herald, Turnbull stayed away from investing in Australian companies after he became the communications minister in 2013. The only exception was Lucy Turnbull’s 17 million shares in Prima Biomed, a company which works on cancer treatments. Lucy is the fourth largest share-holder of the company. She is also a board member. The investment into this company is under scrutiny for any possible conflict that might arise from it.
The private equity funds Turnbull prefers to invest in draws in large sums and promises huge returns, usually 20 percent of the amount invested.
The prime minister has said in a statement that the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has approved all his investments under the Ministerial Code of Conduct.
Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.
